


Premonition

by Lady_Ganesh



Category: Saiyuki
Genre: Backstory, Character Study, Character of Color, Gen, Two-Spirit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-06-04
Updated: 2008-06-04
Packaged: 2017-10-03 18:56:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Ganesh/pseuds/Lady_Ganesh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This started as a challenge for <a href="http://community.livejournal.com/saiyuki_time/profile"><img/></a><a href="http://community.livejournal.com/saiyuki_time/"><b>saiyuki_time</b></a> and got completely out of hand. Much love to <a href="http://mendax.livejournal.com/profile"><img/></a><a href="http://mendax.livejournal.com/"><b>mendax</b></a> for betaing. Spoilers for Gat's backstory, additional notes at the end of the fic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Premonition

Gati Nenehawk woke up sweating and anxious, his breath coming in tiny, wild bursts.

"Gati?" Kele's voice brought him back to his tent, to the cool night. He sat up and tried to catch his breath. Kele reached up and stroked his bare shoulder.

"A nightmare," he said. "There was a crow-- I--"

"You should tell my stepfather," she said thoughtfully, pulling the blanket up around her shoulders to keep the cold away from her body. "Or the shaman."

He nodded. The dream was a chaotic, confused memory, but he could hear the crow's cry still ringing in his ears, so sharp, so _real,_ that only the darkness of the tent convinced him it'd been the dream.

He pulled up his knees and rubbed his temples. Kele stroked his back.

He blinked, and the world slowly pulled back to reality; the evening, the chill, the moonlight sneaking through the door of his tent. Kele felt warm, her tiny, slim body just close enough for him to feel her body heat.

"If we were married," she said, "I could comfort you every night, when you had dreams like that."

"You could," he conceded, wrapping his arms around her and lying back down. "What kind of comfort did you have in mind?"

He could see her smile, wide and white in the dim moonlight. "I'll show you."

 

In the morning, with the spring sun warming the earth, he went to see the shaman. Kele's stepfather had powerful magic, too-- se was _hwame,_ two-spirited, and hir visions were strong and clear. But Kele looked at him more and more often with eyes that thought of marriage, and Gati was not ready for that obligation. It might be easiest to steer clear of their family tent.

"Hn," the shaman said, rising from a bowl of bitter herbs he was tending to. His name was Kono, and he had only been shaman for a few years. He pulled gently at his braid. It was an anxious habit of his; Gati wondered, sometimes, if he was trying to grey his hair, to give himself the look of wisdom he so desperately desired. "The Elder needs to have words with you, and I will have medicine for you by the evening."

Gati nodded. Things must be serious, then. He walked to the Elder's tent.

"Gati," he said, and his familiar smile was soothing. "I am glad to see you."

Gati nodded in response. "The shaman said--"

"He is anxious," the Elder said. "He worries too much. He is young, yet, you know. He needs to marry; that might calm him."

"Everyone talks of marriage these days," Gati said.

The Elder's smile twisted in amusement. "Young Kele is fond of you, eh?"

She wasn't the only one, but now was not the time to speak of that. "I am not ready to marry," Gati said. "Not yet. I will know, when the time comes."

The Elder nodded, and Gati wondered why he looked so skeptical. "Come and sit. It worries me just to watch you stand like that."

"I am sorry, Elder," Gati said, obeying. "I dreamt, and the dream disturbed me. I spoke to Kono, and he told me to come."

"There is something coming," the Elder said, looking up from his seated position to meet Gati's eyes. "From the East. It has been attacking the Spirit People."

The Spirit People were even closer to nature than the clan was. They deeply tied to the land, powerful and wise. Why would anyone--

"We do not know what started this trouble," the Elder continued. "All we know is the path of destruction the attackers have left behind. We have spoken with the other clans, and we have decided to ally, for now, to help protect them. We are sending our greatest warriors to fight. You and Hoalye will travel together."

Gati nodded.

"The shaman is preparing medicines for you both," the Elder said. "He says it will be a dangerous journey, and you must be careful."

"We shall be, then," Gati said. "Thank you, Elder, for this honor."

"Your strength is like nothing I have seen," the Elder said, "even in my many years. And Hoalye is strong, too, and resourceful. You will both be needed."

 

Kono had a medicine bag ready for Gati that evening. "Be cautious," he said. "The energy inside it is strong. Be sure to keep the leather against your skin. Do not take it off."

Gati nodded. "Thank you," he said. It was only then that he noticed the dark shadows under the young shaman's eyes. "Kono," he said. "Are you all right?"

Kono's smile was wry and fatigued. "I will be fine, Gati. You are a good man, and a brave warrior."

"Perhaps," Gati said, and tried not to worry.

He did not see Kele that night; he slept alone in his tent, half-anticipating, half-fearing another nightmare. But no visions came to him in the night, and he slept without dreams.

 

In the morning, he decided to bathe at the river. The old shaman had once told Gati he was a child of the water. When he stood at the bank, he felt it to be true; the pulsing of the currents was like the rush of blood, strong and life-giving.

He stood at the bank and remembered Grandfather helping him catch his first fish. Grandfather had been a big man, broad-shouldered and tall like Gati himself. Gati's fingers had been tiny as he grasped the thick pole. "Hold on tight," Grandfather had said. "The fish will tell you when he is ready."

 

He walked to where the water flowed quickly, and splashed in wild patterns on the rocks; he was not in a mind for lazy currents today. He washed quickly, the cold water invigorating him and distracting him from his worries.

He glanced into the water and saw a sliver of movement; a fish, perhaps a salmon? Gati leaned over to better see--

And fell, reaching wildly for a handhold as his foot slipped on the rocks.

He felt one of the rocks scrape a line of pain into his calf, but he caught himself before he could fall further. He took a breath and steadied himself.

It was only then that he realized that the medicine bag had spilled open. Gati grabbed anxiously for its contents. His fingers found purchase on a few things, and he held them all the tighter for what he had lost. He saw a green feather at the edge of his vision, a blood-red stone spinning away in the swift current.

When he recovered his balance, he opened his fingers.

A round circle of amber; a rough, sharp shard of amethyst; a thin, polished band of silver. Gati had not seen medicine like that before, but he trusted the shaman; he was young, but he had trained for years, and his visions had served the clan well. He put the things back in his bag and tied it closed, as tightly as he could. He hoped the spirits would forgive him.

 

He rebraided his hair, thick and heavy in his fingers, as he walked back to the clan. Kele's family was camped on the side of the riverbank, so her _hwame_ stepfather could better listen to the spirits there. Se was sitting outside the tent as he passed. "You spilled the bag?"

Gati touched the wet bag instinctively, willing his face to not show shame or fear.

 

Se looked at him with sympathy. "It's all right. Let me get up, I'll see what the damage is." Se limped over to him, leaning heavily on hir cane, and pulled at the rawhide on his neck. "Come on, Gati, let's have a look."

"But the shaman said--" He pulled it off anyway and handed it to hir. It was easier than arguing.

Se snorted. "What does he know? He's but a child, too young for this business yet." Se worked the knot open. "Ah," se said. "Look at what you have here." Se touched the silver. "This one is the start, but the amber and amethyst, they'll take you through to the end. Don't worry about the things you've lost." Se bit her lip and looked up at him, her lined face wrinkled further in thought. "Gati."

 

Gati had never seen the hwame's face so serious. "Yes?"

"This is a hard road you are on. I can't tell you how it will end. Kono means well, but he doesn't realize. Too young. Too green. No medicine can save you from this, Gati. I wish--"

Gati waited while se found the words.

"I would not wish your fate on anyone, Gati. But I think you are the only one of us strong enough to do what you will have to do."

Gati felt a cold hand close around his heart.

"I am sorry," se said. "I would have married you to our Kele, if we could have convinced you to agree."

"She will find a good husband," Gati said. "Better than me."

"I hope she finds a good husband, Gati Nenehawk. But I doubt she will find any better."

 

The _hwame_ had said Kele was out gathering, so he went to the marshes to find her. _Kele,_ the words went in his mind, _I have to leave, to help the Spirit People. I do not know when I will return. Do not wait for me. Please._

She was leaning down, the sunlight dappling her shoulders and lighting the thin hairs on the back of her neck. Her hand was reaching toward a cattail, and he could see the strength in her thin arms as she pulled.

 

He could say nothing to her.

She pulled him close, and it was a struggle to get to dry land, to find grass for their bodies to rest on as they made love. Kele's hands were still cold from the marsh as they touched, her legs damp from the water.

They did not dress afterward for a long time, despite the cold. "I know you are leaving," Kele said.

He nosed her braid aside to kiss the back of her neck.

They did not say anything more.

Gati closed his eyes. Kele's skin was warm now, where they touched. She seemed so small when they were close like this, fragile in contrast to his warrior's bones and thick arms. So different from the girl she was with most of the clan, hard and strong and clever-tongued. This was a side of her he was fortunate to see, a side he was not sure anyone outside her family had glimpsed.

His mind told him the _hwame_ could be mistaken, but his heart told him that he would never hold Kele so close again.

A crow called in the distance, and he pulled her closer, as though she could shield him. She moved her face against his chest, and he felt the medicine bag adjust, the sharp edge of the amethyst pressing into his sternum. He felt Kele's fingers wind into his own, and held them.

He fell asleep at her side, and dreamt of birds.

**Author's Note:**

> Cultural notes/warning: I was originally going to leave everyone unnamed but Gati, but that was annoying as hell, so instead I did the Minekura throw-everything-in-a-blender-and-see-what-comes-out approach. So all names are Native American but are not confined to one tribe or cultural tradition. (The only name of any great significance is Kele, which means 'sparrow.') Likewise for the clan's lifestyle and traditions-- after stressing out in several different directions, I chose to keep things entirely fictional, to better fit the _Saiyuki_ universe. I mean no disrespect to First Nations nomenclature, traditions, or myths. _Hwame_ is a Mohave word for female-born Two-Spirits living as men.


End file.
